Mamoru’s letter seemed to work very well to convince the old man to allow her to work here. Something about his expression told Mamoru that he was more annoyed at hearing the name of Therod, and she made a mental note to contact the clone to obtained this letter and learn more information about Lord Therod and what exactly his reputation was. As far as Mamoru knew he was simply a lord of his people and died of reasons related to his old age, but these were base assumptions. Regardless Mamoru was in, and she was escorted to the boarding house. She took note the amount of human servants and the lack of dragonoids like herself. In hindsight perhaps she should’ve stayed in her human form, but she was her strongest in this one. Besides, even if she did wish to remain beneath notice, she’d still be looked at with suspicion for simply being a new maid. [i]”Stick to the plan Mamoru. You are a simple brute dragonoids maid, who surely doesn’t know the full nuances of civilized society.”[/i]

Additionally the other maid, Celia, asked Mamoru why she choose to work here of all places. An innocent enough question, but Mamoru was privy to the lifestyle of a maid and knew that they were the information network within a lords home. If Mamoru wasn’t careful with her words even common humans could see through her deception. “It was the will of my master. He told me that I could most use here, and I trust his word. Thus I am here.” Mamoru intentionally enunciated her words with deliberate practice, to give the implication that she isn’t familiar with the common tongue. She did the same before as well, speaking with perfect yet obviously reversed cadence.

[hr]

It was not long before Butterfly was confronted by the mysterious entity. Looking at her he knew: she was not someone from the Chateau. Even with all of the secrets within Butterfly has never seen someone like her before, that she was a stranger to this place. But he couldn’t underestimate her either; her speed was equal to that of the flying ESPer’s and she traveled across the land, through the forest and over the mountains. She was barely detected by Butterfly’s Skeletal sentries, who’s sole purpose and abilities were to detect and identify. Butterfly was initially dismissive of this world and its potential after seeing that crude ritual circle, but this was a reminder that this world and its possibilities were still unknown to him.

Still, no sense in being rude. Butterfly bowed his head towards the guest and spoke politely as he should. “Welcome, mistress. Yes, we have been expecting you. I have prepared these refreshments in advance of your arrival.” Right now Butterfly also received word that the Chateau was to be on high alert. Normally Butterfly would gladly take this opportunity to sic the Bone Martyrs on this intruder or even form Gashadokuro, however upon hearing her comment about the vast amount of skeletons she could sense, Butterfly knew he lost the element of surprise. At best, he may be able to swarm her with Bone Martyrs before she could slay him and send a desperate distress signal to the butlers to form Gashadokuro, but that all gambled on the woman’s inability to kill Butterfly before he could send the mental signal. Something he isn’t certain about due to a lack of information about her abilities.

For now, Butterfly must stall, and entertain. He knew that among the inhabitants of the Chateau, Bone Daddy was ill-suited for direct combat. His duties were to supply the Chateau with laborers and serve them loyally. But he can do more. He always wants to do more for his masters. “For drinks, we have Matcha green tea, freshly brewed to assist in warding off the mountains cold winds. If there is something sweeter you desire we also have vanilla cola, courtesy of our Chateau’s finest chef.” Butterfly poured out a small sample of both for the stranger. The tea was hot, but at the perfect temperature for sipping, not too strong but had enough bitterness to compliment the sweets spread out on the table. The cola had the traditional dark caramel coloration to it with white foam as it was poured into the cup, a bit of a visual trick to invoke the taste and color of vanilla. As the cola was already chilled, there was no ice which could water down the flavor.

“As for snacks, we have prepared a trifecta of sweet, savory, and spicy.” First from the sweet plate Butterfly has the typical arrangement of cookies and candies, such as macarons, madeleines with a raspberry spread, and chocolates of the dark, white, nuts, and dipped fruit variety. “These confections were made by our master chef herself, though I have had the pleasure of personally selecting the fruits which grow in our gardens that prove worthy of her craftsmanship.”

Next was the savory or basically, meat. And what a better way to arrange the meat than with a Charcuterie board. Butterfly would reveal a large platter with various smoked and cured meats on one side, an arrangement of cheese on the other, divided down the center with crackers and biscuits which to stack the meat and cheese combination on. Butterfly also opened three spreads that looked to be either fruit jam or paste. “I have the honor of preparing this dish. The cheese you see here is an aged Gouda, a hard yet sweet cheese that pairs finely with a spread. There is also a Brie cheese courtesy of our fine chef, soft, creamy, yet with a proud flavor with cracked black pepper. Finally we have the blue cheese, a Gorgonzola with a crumbly texture and more of a salty rather than sweet taste, but these qualities make it a fine choice to combine with the arrangement of meats.” Unlike the cheese, there was a vast variety of meat to choose from, neatly arranged so they could be picked up without needlessly shuffling or scooping. 

“The meats, of which I had the pleasure of preparing and making myself. I have prepared salami, which includes the classic pepperoni and a more traditional Genoa salami, which is a soft fermented pork based compared to the pepperoni Smokey beef. Alongside the salami we have Prosciutto, pancetta, pork pate, and rillettes. Additionally we have corned beef slices and pastrami. Each of these creatures had been raised, slaughtered, and butchered by our own staff for our finest quality.” Lastly, there was the spicy snacks, which seemed so spicy they were steaming underneath their lids. As Butterfly opened them up there was a small cloud of steam that rose into the air.

“For the spicy snacks we have replicated recipes from the strange land of giants known as [i]America[/i] and perfected them here.” One of the first dishes that Butterfly presents appears to be red hot chicken tenders that glistened a violent red. “Boneless Buffalo Wings, fried and dipped in the Chateaus own signature spicy sauce. A treat that will surely clear your sinuses.” Next was a rather ornate looking dish consisting of a crispy fried onion with a red-white sauce neatly sitting at the center. “A blooming onion coated in a beer batter before being fried in in lard based oil, with a coating of Cajun spices to give it extra flavor and bite. Served with a ketchup, mustard, and mayo sauce blend.” The next dish that was still hit and crispy appeared to be yet another fried dish, a reoccurring theme with the spicy foods. “These are jalapeño poppers, carefully cultivated in the Chateau’s green house gardens, these particular snacks are our ‘Atomic Ass Bomb’ variants due to the variety of spices, breading, and oil to ensure physical harm through fire damage upon consumption. A snack fit for only our mightiest warriors.”  Finally, the last spicy dish consisted of what appeared to be just a bowl of twisted, curly potato fries with a healthy coating of salt, peppers, and chili flakes. “These are curly fries.” Butterfly said simply. “I have no idea who made these.”